The Vitamin A and Carotene Content of Market Butter Produced in Kansas

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Abstract
A study was made of the vitamin A and carotene content of butter produced in Kansas from July, 1943, through Dec, 1944. This work was part of a nation-wide survey of the vitamin A potency of butter. The detns. were made using a Coleman spectrophotometer and the Carr-Price reaction. The mean annual vitamin A potency was 15,100 I.U. per lb.; the mean from May to Nov. was 17,700 I.U.; and from Dec. to April, 11,050 I.U. In the above periods the vitamin A potency due to carotene was 19.6%, 21.4% and 14.9%, respectively. The vitamin A and carotene content of butter varied with the season as well as with the area of the state wherein it was produced. The vitamin A potency reflected changes in feeding conditions. Butter of high vitamin A and carotene content was produced in areas where cereal grass pastures were available in the late fall and early spring. There was no correlation of vitamin A potency and butter score.